Reifer appointed, old selection policy terminated

NEWLY-appointed West Indies coach Floyd Reifer will have the task of finalising the regional team’s preparations ahead of the International Cricket Council 50-over World Cup, which bowls off on May 30 in England and Wales.

President of Cricket West Indies Ricky Skerritt made the announcement at a press conference at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua, yesterday. Reifer replaces Richard Pybus, who also served as an interim coach of the regional team since January of this year.

Skerritt said in about five months the search for a full-time head coach will begin. Another major announcement was the news that Jamaican Robert Haynes will be the interim chairman of selectors, replacing Barbadian Courtney Browne who held the position for almost three years.

Reifer on his new appointment said, “My coaching philosophy is we want to build a winning culture and creating that honesty and trust amongst players.”

The new coach said the World Cup camp, which starts on Monday, will be his first task as Windies coach. “As we go forward with the camp we have a lot of work to be done. We are going to work on a lot of specifics during the camp...we are going to do a lot of work on our fielding and identify with the other coaches some of the weak areas we need to improve on.”

Skerritt said the decision to appoint Reifer was based on the new board’s cricket first plan which intends to utilise regional expertise.

After days of meetings Skerritt said, “While we may have had some differences in opinion, we all could agree that the move to promote the best coaches of our region is of vital interest of West Indies cricket, and in particular the men’s senior team and their preparations for the upcoming Cricket World Cup in England (and Wales).”

Skerritt, a former West Indies manager, said, “I can tell you first hand that participating in a World Cup is a career defining experience for West Indian players and coaching staff. We therefore believe it is strategically more beneficial for a West Indian coach with the proven skill sets to have this exposure at CWI’s expense – rather than a foreign coach.” The CWI president said Reifer has an impressive record with the West Indies A team.

“Up to the end of 2018, Floyd Reifer had been identified as the outstanding emerging local coach. He displayed this by leading the West Indies A team successfully, including victories against the England Lions, and ended the past year by coaching the senior men’s team to a T20 series win in Bangladesh. Mr Reifer’s key coaching role in helping to set up the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) Marooners impressive win in the 2018 Regional Super 50 tournament is well documented,” Skerritt said.

Skerritt, who spoke about all players being available for selection since being elected president on March 24, confirmed a new selection policy will be followed. “I am therefore pleased to confirm that we have terminated the old embedded selection policy which secretly, but actively, victimised some players and banished them from selection consideration.”

A number of players have had their issues with CWI leading to players spending long periods of time out of West Indies colours. Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy is one player who may be hoping for a recall. Sammy has not played for West Indies since publicly criticising the Dave Cameron-led CWI following the 2016 World T20 tournament.